ERIC Number: ED335701
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1991-Sep
Pages: 11
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Learner-Centered Classroom: Explorations Into Language and Learning.
Livdahl, Barbara J.
Insights into Open Education, v24 n1 Sep 1991
A common problem for teachers and students is that the teacher's control of the communication in the classroom limits the students' use of their language to learn. Group learning, an alternative to the traditional teacher-led classroom structure, can enhance the students' opportunity to use their language. An understanding of the following three factors has important implications for the language arts classroom, namely, that: (1) students bring complex theories or representations of the world to the learning situation; (2) students already have highly developed language learning skills; and (3) talking and writing as well as reading and listening are valuable language learning tools. The use of these world views and language skills is central to students' learning. Teachers should remember when choosing materials and strategies that students' motivation for learning is their desire or need to make sense of the world by confirming or revising their world view. Language is the system by which they recode experiences into theories so that they can operate or elaborate on them. Language makes thoughts visible so that they are available for introspection and revision. Talking and writing are powerful learning tools because the students learn from the ideas for others. Language arts classrooms restructured on the basis of these implications can be truly learner-centered, and have the potential to be lively, exciting places where all participants are engaged in meaningful learning. (Eighteen references are attached.) (PRA)
Publication Type: Collected Works - Serials
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: North Dakota Univ., Grand Forks. Center for Teaching and Learning.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A